Impala Platinum: NUM ‘not threatened’ at Marula mine

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was not at risk of losing members at Impala Platinum’s (Implats’s) Marula mine in Limpopo following a wildcat strike, general secretary Frans Baleni said yesterday. “It is a small number of people who were at the forefront of the strike. We are engaging with the company to address their issues,” Baleni said. He said no formal demands had been presented to the union. “What we heard is that they want Implats to extend the wage settlement it signed in Rustenburg to them in Limpopo.” He said the strike committee that had led the strike wanted to meet company management, bypassing the union. About 2 000 workers went on a wildcat strike last week, apparently demanding that the wage settlement reached in the North West platinum belt after a five-month strike be extended to them. NUM’s rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, sealed a three-year deal with Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum and Implats on June 24. – Sapa